News

New world demands new solutions

7 June 2016

Although architect firm Diederendirrix can serve the whole of the Netherlands from Eindhoven, Bert Dirrix (61) still chose to open an office in Rotterdam. The entrepreneur explains why.

  1. The profession changed
    “Our profession has changed since the crisis. Previously, architects were responsible for the entire construction process, now we’re entrepreneurs who bring parties together. We have to be able to flexibly switch between, for example, landscapers, economists and housing providers. This requires market research and expansion. Therefore, we’ve been thinking about a second office for years. For this purpose we went on a business trip to China, but the culture is too far removed from us.”
  2. Transformation
    “We thought of Rotterdam, because the city is going through a similar transformation as Eindhoven. There are also a lot of existing buildings that will be repurposed and we focus on these. There’s also a practical reason: business developer Theo Hauben and architect Tomas Dirrix of Diederendirrix live in Rotterdam. They’ve already built up a network of young entrepreneurs, designers and other creative people. We as a company get new energy from this.”
  3. Experimental
    “Our new office is intended for experimentation, exploration and innovation. We’re going to immerse ourselves in constructional issues for which we hardly have time at the moment. The new world demands new solutions. We want to discover what’s going on out there and we’re open to everything.”

Read the article on deOndernemer